By Brandon Josphat
OLD Mutual, in partnership with Zimbabwe’s number one business publication, The Financial Gazette, will hold this year’s Top Companies Survey (TCS) awards in Harare tonight.
Conceived by the iconic Pink Paper three-and-a-half decades ago, the prestigious annual gongs have been bestowed on the crème de la crème of the local corporate sector since then, with OM joining as the diamond partner 10 years ago.
The highly-regarded accolades promote good corporate governance practices, while also providing a much-needed platform for networking among business leaders and other key stakeholders during the major award event.
The chief executive of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA), Tafadzwa Chinamo, will be the guest of honour at tonight’s event, which is running under the theme ‘Sustainable innovation for growth’.
The Managing Director of Modus Media — the publisher of The Financial Gazette — Lewis Chikurunhe, told the Daily News yesterday that it was all systems go for tonight’s event.
“Corporate governance is very important because it creates a system of rules and practices that determine how companies operate and how they align with the interest of all their stakeholders. “Good corporate governance thus leads to ethical business practices, which in turn leads to financial viability.
We are very proud to be the prime movers behind these distinguished awards over the past 34 years. Similarly, we would like to pay homage to our eminent partners over the past decade on this vital project, Old Mutual.
“May our relationship continue to grow from strength to strength as we together promote accountability, transparency, fairness, responsibility, risk management and diligence in the business sector,” Chikurunhe said.
The TCS was first launched in 1980 to recognise top performing companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE). It has since become the most authoritative barometer for local and international investors on the performance of companies in Zimbabwe’s banking, insurance and life assurance sectors, as well as those listed on the ZSE and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.
The adjudication for this year’s awards was done by a panel made up of experienced professionals independent of both the FinGaz and Old Mutual. Last year, beverage maker Delta Corporation was crowned the best performing company on the local bourse. Mobile network operator Econet Wireless and Simbisa Brands were named the first and second runners-up respectively.
